Enrolling a rural community pharmacy as a Vaccines for Children provider to increase HPV vaccination: a feasibility study

Abstract

Background Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the U.S. with over 80 million infected individuals. High-risk strains are associated with 6 different cancers. Although infection is preventable, U.S. vaccination rates remain suboptimal and there are noted disparities between urban and rural communities due to economic barriers, lack of access, and low awareness and education. Methods The current pilot study sought to overcome these barriers through an interprofessional collaborative enrolling a community pharmacy in a rural, medically underserved Alabama county as a Vaccines for Children (VFC) provider to provide free vaccines to eligible adolescents. Program evaluation was conducted to determine the intervention’s feasibility. Potential efficacy was assessed by analyzing county-level HPV vaccination uptake and completion rates using state immunization registry data. Results Over the 8-month study, 166 total vaccines were administered to 89 adolescents ages 10–18, including 55 doses of HPV vaccine, 53 doses of Tdap vaccine, 45 doses of meningococcal vaccine, and 13 doses of influenza vaccine. Among these adolescents, mean age was 12.6 years old, and 64 (71.9%) were VFC patients. The pharmacy recorded an increase in total vaccine administration of 158.8%, an increase in prescription revenue of 34.8%, and an increase in total revenue by 24.4% during the course of the study, compared to the previous year. Conclusions Findings from the current work demonstrate the potential of this strategy and can serve as a blueprint for statewide and national dissemination and implementation to ultimately increase access to vaccination services, increase vaccination rates, and reduce urban-rural vaccine disparities.

Rural Americans’ COVID-19 Vaccine Perceptions and Willingness to Vaccinate against COVID-19 with Their Community Pharmacists: An Exploratory Study

“…Participants in this study trusted pharmacists to provide vaccinations, particularly COVID-19 vaccinations. Past research exploring rural adults’ acceptance of pharmacist-administered immunizations focused on parents’ acceptance of having their adolescent children receive pharmacy-based vaccinations [ 30 , 31 ]. Similar to this study’s findings, previous individuals reported support for pharmacist-administered vaccines due to the convenience of this healthcare delivery approach.…”

Pharmacy-based immunization: a systematic review

“…Pharmacies offer a greater degree of territorial equity than other healthcare centers. This is particularly true for inhabitants of backward or difficult-to-access area ( 36 , 37 ), for whom PBI improves accessibility, thus decreasing disparities ( 38 – 40 ). Second, a better accessibility translates into increased vaccination rates ( 20 , 34 ), particularly in medically underserved populations ( 34 , 38 ) and in adults ( 19 , 41 ).…”

“…Moreover, PBI brings profitable business opportunities for pharmacies and policy changes that expand pharmacy services, such as training for pharmacists and pharmacy staff on immunization practices. Several studies have reported improvements in both revenues ( 40 ) and cost-effectiveness of implementing PBI strategies for both, the patients, and the immunization facilities ( 27 ). Singhal and Zhang ( 42 ) claimed that the direct costs per adult influenza and pneumococcal vaccination are lower in pharmacies by 16–26% than in physician offices and other medical settings (11–20%).…”

Vaccine Promotion Strategies in Community Pharmacy Addressing Vulnerable Populations: a Scoping Review

“…19 Barriers to socialdemographic determinants such as lack of coverage may be dealt with through facilitating reimbursement procedures with insurance 43 or through offering vouchers 44 .Trust may also be reinforced through relationship building with the pharmacy team and culturally relevant communication. 29,32,33 Providing convenient modalities for vaccination through walk-in or extended opening hours may reduce accessibility constraints that are frequent in rural areas. 26,45 We identi ed 4 barriers that were common to every vulnerable category.…”